Links posted on January 21, 2009
Rhetorical foundations of the Inauguration Speechifying - from Anaphora to Zeugma.
- Anaphora, "emphasizing words by repeating them at the beginnings of neighboring clauses" -- "For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth. For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh." ... Also, "That's not change, that's more of the same."
- Epistrophe, repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses or sentences. For example, the Yes We Can speech:
For when we have faced down impossible odds; when we've been told that we're not ready, or that we shouldn't try, or that we can't, generations of Americans have responded with a simple creed that sums up the spirit of a people.
Yes we can.
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.
Yes we can.
It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom through the darkest of nights.
Yes we can.
It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.
Yes we can. - Antimetabole: "The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act — not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. All this we will do."
- Signifying and a Dog Whistle all in one: "They're trying to bamboozle you. It's the same old okie-doke. Y'all know about okie doke, right?". The video is worth watching -- his speech really changes when he shifts into black preacher mode.
- Antithesis: "To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West — know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist." (See also this analysis
- Merism (lots of this): "And so to all the other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman, and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more."
- Couldn't find any chiasmus, hendiadys or zeugma (OK so I lied in the pitch.) -- can you?
Other literary notes on the inauguration inside. [more inside]